Generation Y, more commonly referred to as Millennials, refers to people born in 1981-2000. Unlike previous generations, it grew up in the world of digital and social media. How did this affect generation Y's approach to work?
People who are Millennials, unlike their parents and grandparents, grew up at a time when the Internet became extremely popular and began to be an integral part of our daily lives. For this reason, they are under the spotlight of marketing. In their lives, they are guided by the "Follow Your Dreams" mantra, which influences their private lives as well as decisions related to professional development.
Generation Y believes in morality, globalism, tolerance, competition, and civic duty. They are ethnically diverse, encourage mutual tolerance, and are described as confident and optimistic people. They present a completely different view of the world from older people who are used to treating work as a duty they have to do. Generation Y wants something more. When choosing a job, they are guided by the development opportunities, the attractiveness of the job, and whether it suits their interest. They also pay attention to what the company is itself – what it represents, what values it supports, and whether it participates in various social initiatives.
Millennials value freedom and the opportunity to reconcile work and private life. For this reason, part of them are looking for a flexible positions fully or partially remote or companies with unlimited vacation policy to be able to pursue their passions. For many of them, work and passion should go hand in hand. So looking for something that they like to do and put a lot of emphasis on well-being in the work environment and independence that allows them to develop in a creative way. When they find a job in a company that meets their needs, they are able to devote themselves to it completely and work hard for the success of the organization. They work perfectly at work in small companies and startups, but a large part of them avoid strictly the corporate atmosphere of work, which they associate with many limitations and norms that do not quite fit into their vision of life and work.
Specific features and beliefs of Millennials are strengths in a company that enforces and encourages the creation of new strategies for recruitment and retention of employees. By 2020, generation Y is expected to represent half of the global workforce. That is why it is so important that companies understand Millenials and take their approach and needs into account in their work environment. This translates not only into a new approach to recruitment but also to completely fresh solutions regarding the work environment and employee motivation.
One of the most characteristic features of Millenials' personal motivation is the expectation that they will do something that pleases them at work. Because of this, when looking for a new workplace, the key factor for them is a work environment that will stand out. Organizing company events, sports activities, thematic meetings, and integration activities that allow you to build relationships between employees and find new friends, will be extremely attractive benefits for them.
Millennials live in an era where people from all over the world are connected to each other. For this reason, they often interact with people from other countries, which allows them to adapt to cooperate with people from different cultures and with different personalities. Thanks to this, they are perfect for all positions that require interpersonal relations and are very often satisfied with these interactions.
Millennials are impatient – which can be seen as a disadvantage because they feel the need for everything to happen right away. However, this can have many benefits for the work environment. Their high skills and ability to use technology, coupled with an openness to other people, allows you to improve the competences of other employees. Generation Y likes to help others and see the results of their help.
Millennials are people who are experts in quickly finding solutions thanks to their high skills and efficient use of technological tools. They like to show their value and are often individualists. Individuality is a very important feature for them, as is innovation and independence. Generation Y is considered the most qualified generation looking for a job offering them many challenges, development, and the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge. Companies offering good training programs are also appreciated. According to Mindtickle, 91% of Millennials expect to remain in their current job for a maximum of 3 years.
What Millennials value most at work is a flexible work model that allows them to manage their time, create a work schedule, and tasks that will motivate them to get involved in projects. The use of technology in social media is an excellent tool that helps improve team building and task tracking. Generation Y likes to choose when and where to work. They appreciate remote work and non-standard working time.
Considering all the preferences of generation Y, it can be seen that managing such people will require much more commitment from employers. Thanks to Calamari and its automation, this can be achieved easily without having to spend a lot of time on HR management. Calamari Clock In allows you to measure the working time of employees, while Calamari Leave allows you to efficiently manage absences in teams. Calamari is also an essential tool when it comes to providing information to work frameworks oriented towards objectives (OKR) widely used in technology companies such as Intel, Amazon, or Google.
Generation Y is a completely new, more demanding type of employee, which is worth being served because of his skills, speed of work, and willingness to develop. Ensuring the well-being of Millennials in the work environment will initially entail more work from the HR department, but the benefits of employing specialists from Generation Y are worth the effort and can bring a lot of success in the future.
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